Color: Generally whitish or pinkish body with a yellowish brown to black stripe on the middle of the side.

Dorsal profile of head moderately sloped. Preorbital width about equal to eye diameter. Preopercular notch and knob poorly developed. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Height 2.6-3, 3.4-3.6 in length with caudal. Head 2.5-2.7, 3.2-3.4 in length with caudal. Eye 4.2-4.4, 1.4-1.6 in snout and somwhat more than slightly convex inter orbital space. Mouth slightly oblique. Maxillary reaching to below anterior half of eye. Narrow bands of small teeth in the jaws, with an outer series of distant caninoids or canines, two of which in the anterior part of the upper jaw are fang-like. Small teeth in a triangular patch on head of vomer, with or without a posterior prolongation. Anterior part of head naked. Scales beginning above middle of eye. Temporal region scaly. About 7 to 8 transverse rows of scales on preoperculum. Preopercular limb scaleless in its posterior part. Hind and lower border of preoperculum rather strongly denticulated in half-grown specimens, merely rough in old ones. Preopercular notch shallow. Longitudinal rows of scales running obliquely and ascending to dorsal profile above the lateral line, parallel to the axis of the body below it. About 65 transverse rows of scales above lateral line and about 60 rows below it. First dorsal spine somewhat less than half length of second. Third s[pine longest, equal to postorbital part of head. Following spines decreasing gradually in length to the last. Soft dorsal slightly rounded, less high than spinous dorsal. First anal spine half length of second, which is as long as third or a little longer and equal to distance between hind margin of eye and posterior nostril. Anal somewhat rounded, its longest than anal spines. Pectorals equal to distance between hind border of operculum and posterior nostril. Ventrals as long as post orbital part of head and half eye, ventrals spine equal to snout. Caudal slightly emarginate. Dorsal spines (total): 10, Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-14, Anal spines: 3, Anal soft rays: 8-9.